[ti]spawn[/ti]SURGE STEPPES SPAWN <MORGANA>

She quested North, through winding switchback trails and pillars of sharpened steel, eyes fixed on faraway places.

It got colder as she went. Even with her settings on reduced, she felt her legs grow leaden. The Steppes were temperate, the air charged with perpetual electricity and the ground dusty. Birds flocked in distant clouds overhead, outracing the storm.

"This is epic," Bergamot murmured, and forced herself to walk on.

She wished she had a Ride Pokemon. She'd been confused when the Saddle system first came out- previously in the Beta, there had been nothing in place to stop her from floating, flying, or being carried by any Pokemon she wished. Now, fully exploring the Steppes for the first time, she understood why.

She could go anywhere. Do anything. The only obstacle was time and distance.

And cold.

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but it felt colder as she pressed on. Towards the northern point of the map. Towards the strange, shadowy peaks on the horizon. Towards the Corruption Zone.

Half an hour later, Bergamot realized she was walking in circles.

I'm sure I've seen that spire before, she thought, frowning at the jagged spear of metal. There was a large dent in one side. Isn't that where Jack tackled the Magnemite? She'd been here before. In fact, she'd started her journey wandering in this direction.

Shaking out her shirtsleeves, Bergamot pulled up her map, narrowing her eyes. I should have been heading directly North. What happened? She hadn't been watching her minimap religiously, but she shouldn't have doubled back like that. Had there been a glitch?

I remember when we used to be able to report those. C0D13 would scan your noseprint and enact his most recently updated version of justice. One year later and Hydance were still trying to get away with calling bugs 'features' and denying any responsibility.

There was one easy way she could think of to keep her way: find a landmark. With an active flag on her minimap, she should have no difficulty telling which direction she was headed in.

The Giant Shrine should do.

With the Giant Shrine still crackling nearby, Bergamot had the utmost confidence in her chosen battler. Crony 2012 was a weak, slithering little skink more at home in a den of snakes than on the open plains, but even a male Salandit could win against a Duraludon in the right setting.

That setting was the Giant Shrine.

Morgana's easy landmark had unwittingly been turned into her advantage. As far as she knew, the shrine only healed players' Pokemon, not wild ones - though she'd seen wild Pokemon gathered around there at times. Perhaps they were just curious, or worshipping in their own way.

Either way, she had this in the bag.

As the beam attack hit Salandit, the Giant Shrine also flared, sending an opposite charge the other direction. Both forces crashed on Salandit, ringing the startled lizard Pokemon in blue and orange light as the two forces fought to equalize in its slithery little body.

<Gnehhh??!>

"Ohohoho! You'll have to do better than that!" Bergamot cried as the blue light won out. Static played across Salandit's body as its pupils dilated, body supercharged by the nearby Shrine's power. "Use..." She realized she had no clue what moves Salandit had. The usual 'bubblebeam' or 'water gun' she could generally rely on was unlikely here.

"Use Ember!"

Crony skittered forward, embers flying from his narrow snout. Bergamot wanted to cackle at her success, but restrained herself. She was trying to limit herself to just one cackle per minute.

"I don't know you at all," Bergamot declared boldly, tossing her hair. "But the hills know my name is Bergamot Gristleborg." She attempted to smirk, a ridiculous expression on anyone but especially Morgana, and ruined the moment further by staggering in place as Duraludon struck the ground with both warhammer hands. Ripples spread from the impact, causing the earth between her feet to shake and sway.

The Ember had barely done anything to the dragon's metallic hide. In hindsight, Bergamot supposed a few stray sparks wouldn't do much to a car, or a refrigerator, or anything else tough and insulated. It was probably more like grinding black pepper on someone who was mildly allergic. (This was just a hypothesis, as Chryssa had never encountered anyone who had this particular skin allergy.)

"Use Poison Gas!" Bergamot declared, forgetting the rules of Pokémon in favor of move variety. Crony 2012 knew better, but what kind of evil minion would he be if he didn't go along with whatever his master told him?

Flame licked around the reptile's thin snout, then guttered and sniffed out. With a squeaky wheeze, dark smoke poured out instead, billowing towards Duraludon. The steel-type swatted it away, annoyed.

Morgana disguised her ineptitude by laughing triumphantly. "Ohohoho! You're starting to catch on," she said, tone dropping to a low, sinister murmur.

Actually, she'd just forgotten Salandit's ability (which usually allowed to to poison steel-types despite their immunity - corrosion? Something like that) didn't work on UNOVR, so she was simultaneously smarter than she looked and also dumber than she was pretending to be. "I've tricked you into assisting me in a hopeless battle, Yiggy Brooooooks." She pronounced it the way it was spelled.

Her eyes shone. "So what are you going to do?" The challenge was unmistakable. "Fight me? Fight the machine? You and your Pokemon are helpless in the face of my treachery." Actually, the blonde's ground-type Sandile unmistakably had the advantage here, but Morgana pretended that wasn't true. "Face it, foolish trainer. You've fallen right. Into. My. Trap."

<Ssssneee...>

"Use Poison Gas again, Crony 2012!" Bergamot raised her voice, deviant, defiant. "Hoho! I'll teach you to order me around."

Morgana rose to her feet like a reborn zombie, filled with the electric energy of the shrine. Her pupils dilated, her heart stuttered in her chest, and her lips drew back to show her teeth.

Her gaze swept the yellow grasses like lasers, leaving swathes of gray stone in its path. "Ha! Revived," she said smugly, then looked up.

She'd been afraid to see what had happened of the Duraludon, but she was even more surprised to see her view obstructed. Crimson clouds boiled and scudded overhead as she looked over the bulk of a Gigantimax Pikachu. Its back currently faced her, striped with brown and yellow like giant scars.

"Oh, boo," Bergamot uttered, cross. How was she supposed to top that? And she did remember that big Pikachu from the Round 2 party, now that she thought about it. Drunk as she had been at the time.

As the Electro Ball spun through the air, Bergamot dusted off her skirts and recalled her Salandit. She had a new crony now, and her name was Yggy Br00ks.

Morgana ignored most of Yggy Br00ks's questions, zeroing in on one thing.

"Oh? What would you give for another Pikachu?" she asked, blue eyes tracking the tomboy like lasers. "I may have a Pichu in my possession. Crony, use Poison Gas, I need aesthetic."

<Hckss?!> said the Salandit, suddenly thrown out again. He was getting a lot of whiplash from Morgana today. Dubiously, he began to pump purple smoke from behind her, giving her an ominous miasma.

Now sufficiently threatening, Bergamot lowered her voice, basilisk gaze vacant. "What deal would you make, Yggy Br00ks? Would you sell your soul? A memory? A legendary egg?" She didn't really want a legendary egg, to tell the truth, she still needed to get rid of this Kyogre one she was carrying around. She had no time for babies. "Actually, scratch that. Do you want a Kyogre egg, too?" Might as well put all her eggs in one basket.